Removal of debris from well bores



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. l, 1955 INVENTOR. Will/'S P. Orr,

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 W. P. ORR

REMOVAL OF DEBRIS FROM WELL BORES Sept. l, 1959 Filed Aug. 1, 1955 INVENTOR.

wi//is P. Orr,

' -,arr N United States Patent y v 2,902,095 o REMOVAL4 or DEBRIS FROM WELL Bonus Y Willis P. Orr, Athens, Tex., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Jersey Production Research Company, Tulsa, kla.,'a corporation of Delaware Application August 1, 1955, vSerial No. 525,738 z Claims. (Cl. 16s-'170) 'Ihe present invention is directed to, method and apparatus for removal of debris from well bores. More particularly, the invention is directed to method and apparatus for scraping theinterior surface of well casing to remove debris therefrom. In its more specific aspects, the invention is directed to a method and apparatus for scraping the interior of a well casing and pushing and confining debris to the bottom of he Well bore prior to running and setting tubing therein.

The present invention may be briefly described as a device foruse in a well casing to remove debris and the like therefrom which comprises anr elongated tubular mandrel provided with at least oneV or a plurality of spaced apart hollow cup-shaped debris removers attached to the mandrel. mandrel to face unidirectionally and are provided with lateral openings of a suicient size for passage of fluid but of insufficient size for passage of debris.

The debris remover may suitably be made destructible or drillable or may b e collapsed or telescoped on itself by constructing they tubulartmemberof a destructible metal which may be disintegrated chemically or the tubular member may be formed with a telescopic section slip joint which may be pinned together by a suitable frangible means such as shear pins, and the like, or by a releasable detaching means. When shear pins are used, the tubular member may be telescoped by setting down weight on the debris remover such as by lowering the tubing to rest on the debris remover a suhcient amount to rupture the frangible means.

The device is adapted for gravitational or forced travel through a well casing and may comprise an elongated tubular member suitably constructed of a destructible metal, such as aluminum, magnesium and the like. The elongated tubular member has an opening in its lower end for receiving and entrapping junk within the tubular member and is provided with a trap on or adjacent its upper end, the device having lateral openings for passage of fluid. The upper and lower ends of the tubular member are provided with downwardly facing open cup-shaped members for receiving and entrapping junk; the lower of the cup-shaped members communicates fluidly with the tubular member and the upper of the cup-shaped members Lprovides an annular recess with the exterior surface of the tubular member.

The method of the 'present invention includes the completing of a well havinga casing arranged therein in which adebris remover is inserted into the well casing and released for gravitational or forced travel through the major portion of the length of the casing to push debris ahead of the debris remover and/or to scrape the interior surface of the well casing. Thereafter a tubing is run in and set in the Well casing following which the casing is perforated by lowering a perforator through the tubing and operating same to perforate the casing.-

After the tubing has beenrun in and prior to the perforation operation, at least la portion of the debris remover may be disintegrated by flowing a caustic solution, salt The debris removers are attached to thev yby other suitable means.

water, acid and the like into the casing to cause reaction with the destructible metal. By virtue of the construction of the debris remover wherein spaced apart cupshaped members are employed, the debris remover is telescoped on itself to occupy a space in the well casing less than that ordinarily occupied. The present invention will be further illustrated by` reference to thedrawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a debris remover for use in a well casing;

Fig. 2 shows the debris remover of Fig. l on the bottom of a well and a tubing run in and set;

Fig. 3 illustrates the destruction ofthe destructibler portion of the' debris remover of Fig. l;

- Fig'. 4 shows perforating an interval in the well casing following the destruction of a portion of the debris removerand telescoping on itself;

Fig. 5 shows aimodified debris remover provided with.

a telescopic section; and

Fig. 6 illustrates a preferred form of Referring now to the drawing and particularly to Figs. l through 4, in which identical numerals will be employed to designate identical parts, numeral 11 designates a well bore'drilled from the earths surface to penetrate: a plurality ofv hydrocarbon productive intervals having a casing 12 arranged therein andcemented in place. with a'H primary VVcement job 13. Arranged for gravitational or" forcedtravel in thecasing 12 is a debris remover generally indicated by the numeral 14 comprised of a plural- -ity ofspaced apart cup-shaped members 15 and 16 ar" rangedfon` a nipple or tubular mandrel 17 which suitably.

may be constructed of a destructible metal, such as alu'- minum or magnesium. The cup-shaped member 15 may be attached to the mandrel 17 by mating threads 18 orrv The cup-shaped member 15 is downwardly facing and provides an annular recess 19 for receiving debris and junk. The lower periphery of the cup-shaped member 15 may be provided with an annular member 20 which may suitably be a resilient material,

klike rubber, for scraping along the interior'surface of the casing 12. The cup-shaped member 15 is provided with a plurality of longitudinally extending slots or open` ings 21 to allow passage of uid from within the space 19 into the casing 12 which will resist passage of debris from the space 19.'-

ofthe mandrel 17 and provides a cup-shaped recess 23 which communicates fluidly with the tubular mandrel 17 by an opening 24 in plate 24a to retain debris but yet allow passage of fluid. Suitably the plate 24a may' be completely closed, as desired. Like the cup-shaped ,member 15, the lower periphery of the member 16 may have an annular member 25 constructed of resilient material, such as rubber. The cup-shaped member 16 also is provided with a plurality of longitudinally extending slots or openings 26 for passage of fluid from within the vvspace 2 3.into the casing 12 but which resists passage of debris. vThe slots 21 and 26 may be a plurality of openings of -other shapes of suiiicient number and size for passage of fluid but of insuflicient size for passage o small particles of debris and junk. f

l Referring now specifically to Figs. 2 to 4, the debris remover 14 has travelled gravitationally or has been forced to the bottom of the well or to a lower portion of-the `well and thereafter the tubing 30, which may be provided with a production packer 31, is run in and set inthe casing 12. Y

It will be noted that the casing 12 penetrates a plu-y Paiented sept. 1, e

a debris remover rality. of hydrocarbon productive intervals, such 4as A, B, and C from which hydrocarbonsA or. other, desirable uids may be producing, the productive intervals being separated by non-productive intervals, such as D and E. In Fig. 3 the debris remover 1'4v is'irnmersed in a body 32 of` caustic solution, such as sodium hydroxide, to cause destruction of the tubular mandrel 17 which causes the cup-shaped members 15 and 16 to collapseY and assume the telescopic position shown in Fig. 4, the caustic solution having been removed from the casing 32 Vby opening the packer V31 and inserting a tubular member in the tubing 30. to reverse circulate out the body 32 of the caustic solution. The cup-shaped members may also be made of a material that will disintegrate in caustic, acid, or salt watersolution.

Thereafter a perforator, such 'as a tubing gun perforator, designated by numeral 33, provided with a plurality of bullet or shaped-charge guns 34 is lowered`on a wire line or cable 36 adjacent the interval C and operated or red to form a plurality of perforations 35 through the casing 12, cementy 13 and to penetrate and perforate the formation C. Production Vis then had through the perforations 35, up through the tubing 30 to the well head, not shown.

Referring now to Fig. 5, a debris remover designated generally by the numeral 40 is provided with a plurality of spaced apart downwardly facing cup-shaped members 41 and 42 which are generally of the construction of members 15 and 16 and are provided with longitudinally extending slots or openings, not shown. The spaced apart cup-shaped members 41` and 42 nare attached releasably to a telescopic mandrel 43 by frangible means, such as shear pins 44 and 45. The mandrel 43 may suitably be constructed in sections 46, 47,` and 48 which may be releasably connected together by frangible means, such as shear'pins 49 and 50. The'device of Fig. is provided with'a shing neck' 51 having a shing `spear 52 thereon for removal of the remover'40 with a grab tool (not shown) attached to a wire line and the like, also not shown. The other embodiments may also be provided with retrieving means, as desired.l

By providing cup-shaped members Vreleasably attached to the tubular mandrel and by having the tubular'manJ drel constructed with a slip joint or with telescopic sections as described, it is possible to collapse the cupshaped members 41 and 42 on themselves by suitably setting down weight on the debris remover 40.Y This may be accomplished by dropping a weight in the cas# ing before running in tubing or by setting down weight of the tubing 30 on the device 40 when it reaches a position as shown in Fig. 3. 'l

It is advantageous to construct the device as shown in Fig. 5 since this construction eliminates the neces-A sity for using a caustic soda solution or other chemical to disintegrate the tubular mandrel and/or t'elescope'the structure. The presence of caustic soda solution in the well may be detrimental and requires removal of same such as by circulating out or bailing since caustic soda solution may attack gun perforators or well logging devices Yconstructed of aluminum. Furthermore the device of Fig. 5 may be retrieved by shing such as by engagement with a wire line toolv Iand recovered for re-use. i' VReferring now to Fig. 6, numeral 60 designates an elongated member encompassing a debrisV or junk remover in accordance with the present'invention. The elongated member v60 is suitably inthe form of a'tubular member having a bore free of obstructions and is provided with a plurality o f lateral slots l'which will allow fluid to pass freely therethrough but which will resist passage of debris.

The upper end of the tubular member 60 is suitably closed by a plate member 62 provided with a plurality The tubular member 60 with the perforated plate 63 provides a trap in the interior thereof for junk. The lower open end of the tubular member 60 may be provided with teeth or cutting members 64 which prevent rotation of the tubular member 60 if it is later desired to drill out the junk remover in accordance with this embodiment. Arranged on the upper and lower ends o-f the tubular member 60`ar`eY `a plurality of stabilizing splines or fins 65y which are longitudinally rextending on the tubular member 60.

The present invention is of 'Considerable value and utility in that |heretofore it'was the practice to scrapeor clean the interior surfaces ofwell casing to remove debris and junk by runningin a debris remover or 'scraper attached to the tubing orto other equipment attached to the tubing. The prsent invention'elirriinates a substantial amount of manipulating the tubing by inserting into the casing and releasing a debris remover of the type described herein for gravitational travel through the casing. `By dropping a junk pusher or' debris remover in the hole during completion operations before perforating the casing using la tubing gun perforator, a round trip with the tubing or drill pipe to the bottom of the hole to insure that the hole is cleaned is saved. If the debris removed will not drop to bottom, it can be pushed to bottom with the tubing. The tubing then maybe spaced as desired without a pulling job. This is quite advantageous in that the' heavy duty hoisting equipment may be moved oi the hole 'and used elsewhere earlier than heretofore. Specifically, in a Texas field the junk pusher or debris remover, in accordance with thepresent invention, is dropped into the casingV immediately 'after pulling the tubing after, the stage cementing tool'has"bee'n drilled out ata designated depth. A'to'oll of this type is described and'illus'tr'ated on page 203.8. of the Composite Catalog of Oil Field and Pipeline Equipment, 20th edition, 1954- 55. The tubing is then runy with the tubing open-ended, as` shown in the drawing, following the junk pusher to the bottom of the hole, if desired, uand thereafter the tubing is picked up, the well head connection, commonly called a Christmas tree, installed and the rig moved oir. A Well logging device, such as tubing gamma ray logger, may be run and the casing perforated at a particular selected interval using a tubing gun. In accordance with this invention, the hole is cleaned of junk and a trip to the bottom with the tubing is saved. Thus in 'accordance with the present invention, it is unnecessary to attach junk and debris removers to tubingY strings for cleaning and/ Or scraping the interior surface of well casing.

The device of Fig. 6 is employed in a similar manner to that of the devices of Figs. 1 to 5 and may be employed byl releasing the junk pusher in the hole immediately after pulling the tubing. i

Specifically, the device of Fig. 6 has been used successfully in a Texas oil eld for removing" junk and/or debris from wells.

The device of Fig. 6 may suitably be constructed of a tubular member approximately l18 inches in length slotted longitudinally and provided with quarter inch holes in the plate member closing the upper end.V This junk pusher is not to b e restricted to particular dimensions since va junk pusher may beconstructed having an overall length of about 25 inches, an outside diameterof about 4% inches with the stabilizing splines or fins having an outside diameter of about 41/3 inches.

The present invention is of commercial utility and has been used successfully on many occasions in cleaning Wells of junk and removing debris from the interior surfaces of the casing which otherwise would prove harmful to tools and equipment lowered in the' casing.

The debris r'em'overs, such as 15 vand 16, may suitably be constructed of cast iron While the tubular mandrel 17 may suitably be constructed of aluminum. If desired, the members 15 and 16 might also be'constructed of a of holes 63 for passage of uid and forvretainingjunk. 75 destructible or drillable metal "since itma'y be desired to deepen the well subsequently to the described operations.

The present invention insures that the hole is clean, prevents sticking of pipe and/ or endangering rubber packers and other equipment. It is, therefore, of utility in cleaning wells.

The nature and objects of t'ne present invention having been completely described and illustrated, what I 'wish to claim as new and useful and to secure by Letters Patent l. A device for fuse in a well casing having a tubing arranged therein for cleaning same of junk and for removal of debris from the interior surface of the casing by gravitational travel in the casing below and free of the tubing which yconsists of an elongated tubular member, said elongated tubular member having an open lower end and a bore free of obstructions for receiving and entrapping junk within said tubular member and providing a trap with its upper end for debris, longitudinally eX- tending stabilizer means on the outer surface of said elongated tubular member, said device having lateral openings for passage of iluid from the interior of the trap into the casing.

2. A device for ruse in a well casing having a tubing arranged therein lfor cleaning same of junk and for removal of debris from the interior surface of the casing by gravitational travel in the casing below and free of the tubing which consists of an elongated tubular member having an open lower end and a bore free of obstruc- 6 s tions for receiving junk, said tubular member havinig its upper end closed by a perforated plate, said elongated tubular member also being provided with a plurality of longitudinally extending slots for passage of fluid from the interior of the elongated tubular member into the casing, the upper and lower ends of said tubular member being provided on the outer surface thereof with longitudinally extending stabilizer means -for stabilizing said tubular member on gravitational travel through the casing, the lower end of said tubular member being provided With circumferentially extending teeth members for maintaining said elongated tubular member against rotation when rotational force is exerted against the upper end thereof.

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